REVIEWS
- Review: Kurt Elling & Yellowjackets ‘Play Weather Report Alive in Europe + Bonus Studio Recordings’
Decades after its disbanding, Weather Report’s legacy remains as significant as ever. Songs like “Birdland” and “Black Market” have increasingly taken the compositional status of standards. But that growth has existed almost entirely within an instrumental realm. Weather Report’s music has never included lyrics or employed vocalists. And, so, there is a radicalism in adding… Read more: Review: Kurt Elling & Yellowjackets ‘Play Weather Report Alive in Europe + Bonus Studio Recordings’ - Review: Linda Sikhakhane’s ‘LINDA’
With LINDA (Blue Note, 2026), acclaimed South African saxophonist and composer Linda Sikhakhane delivers his fifth album. His second for the iconic Blue Note Records, like its predecessor, Iladi (Blue Note, 2024), is produced by his mentor, Nduduzo Makhathini, who also featured Sikhakhane on his own debut for the label, Modes of Communication: Letters from… Read more: Review: Linda Sikhakhane’s ‘LINDA’ - Review: Sullivan Fortner’s ‘Leave That in There’
An indelible memory of Sullivan Fortner comes from the 2023 Blue Note at Sea, when the pianist lead a trio with Jeff Ballard and Joe Sanders. Fortner broke into that sly grin of his, proclaiming “I feel a ballad,” before proceeding into a version of “Embraceable You” where he held the mic in his right… Read more: Review: Sullivan Fortner’s ‘Leave That in There’ - Review: Rob Dixon’s ‘Naptown Soul’
When one thinks of the improvised music powerhouse cities of the Midwest, Chicago and Detroit often first come to mind. Far too often left in the dust is Indianapolis. But less than an hour away in Bloomington lies Indiana University’s School of Jazz, with many of its alumni ending up in the Crossroads of America. Indy… Read more: Review: Rob Dixon’s ‘Naptown Soul’ - Review: Miguel Zenon and Luis Perdomo’s ‘El Arte del Bolero, Vol. 3’
The ongoing duo of alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon and pianist, Luis Perdomo, has reached its third installment with El Arte del Bolero, Vol. 3 (Miel, 2026). The album comes following much anticipation after its immediate predecessor won a Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2024. The bolero itself is a romantic, slow-dancing ballad form… Read more: Review: Miguel Zenon and Luis Perdomo’s ‘El Arte del Bolero, Vol. 3’ - Review: Joe Zawinul Music Odyssey’s ‘Zawinul Legacy Band 3.0 Live at Grafenegg’
The tunes of Weather Report have long seemed destined to endure beyond the slog of much of the jazz-fusion that dominated the ‘70s. Key to the band across its various forms were two artists – innovative keyboardist Joe Zawinul and the by-now-iconic composer Wayne Shorter. Both were fully masters of their craft. Zawinul won an… Read more: Review: Joe Zawinul Music Odyssey’s ‘Zawinul Legacy Band 3.0 Live at Grafenegg’ - Review: Henry Threadgill Zooid’s ‘Cut You Where You Was’
August 28, 2026, is a big day for NEA Jazz Master Henry Threadgill with two albums released under his name. The first, Fifteen (Nonesuch, 2026), is a trio with Vijay Iyer and Dafnis Prieto and reviewed here. The second, with his own quintet, Zooid, Cut You Where You Was (Pi, 2026) is addressed herein. The… Read more: Review: Henry Threadgill Zooid’s ‘Cut You Where You Was’ - Review: Henry Threadgill, Vijay Iyer & Dafnis Prieto’s ‘Fifteen’
August 21, 2026 is a big day for Henry Threadgill as he releases two albums. One, Cut You Where You Was (Pi, 2026), finds the NEA Jazz Master with his longstanding quintet, Zooid and will be covered on this site in the near future. The other offering, Fifteen (Nonesuch, 2026) captures a group with pianist… Read more: Review: Henry Threadgill, Vijay Iyer & Dafnis Prieto’s ‘Fifteen’ - Review: L’Rain ‘fata morgana’
L’Rain’s “birthday” is not a straightforward celebration. She moves from loneliness to a plea for self-love amidst a sultry ambiance. With lush mellow keys and a patient minimalistic rhythm, “birthday” has an allure reminiscent of classic R&B slow jams. L’Rain’s soulful tone meets the moment perfectly, and a swell of stunning choir-esque vocals creates a… Read more: Review: L’Rain ‘fata morgana’ - Review: Nicholas Payton and Butcher Brown’s ‘A Supreme Blue’
Sometimes a grand project can emerge from a single riff, or even a quote in an improvised solo. A Supreme Blue (Concord, 2026) developed from the latter. Specifically, when Nicholas Payton, sat in with Butcher Brown during the Richmond-based unit’s “Unwind” from Letters from the Atlantic (Concord, 2025) and started quoting “Acknowledgement” from John Coltrane’s… Read more: Review: Nicholas Payton and Butcher Brown’s ‘A Supreme Blue’ - Review: ‘Peace Anthems’
In only a few short years, Red Hook Records has gone from start up to deliverer of some of the most interesting progressive improvised music out there. In celebration of its fifth anniversary, the label has released a compilation featuring its leading artists, Peace Anthems (Red Hook, 2026). First, though, a little background seems appropriate.… Read more: Review: ‘Peace Anthems’ - Review: Marshall Allen’s ‘101: An Audio Odyssey’
Even well into his second century, practically ageless wonder Marshall Allen continues to record, perform, and defy any conventional logic. Who else remains as a live performer and bandleader at 102? 101: An Audio Odyssey (Ropeadope/ Third Way Cultural Alliance, 2026), helmed by the iconic bassist Jamaladeen Tacuma, was primarily recorded in 2025 during the… Read more: Review: Marshall Allen’s ‘101: An Audio Odyssey’ - Review: Nicole Zuraitis’ ‘The Devil I Knew’
As a vocalist, pianist, and songwriter Nicole Zuraitis is a triple threat. Yet the two-time Grammy-winner often goes criminally undermentioned in conversations about female jazz singers. Now, Zuraitis takes the most ambitious step of her career with the sprawling twenty-track, five-suite concept album The Devil I Knew (La Reserve, 2026), which digs deep into reflections… Read more: Review: Nicole Zuraitis’ ‘The Devil I Knew’ - Review: Your Brother’s Keeper and Gary Bartz’s ‘Where Rivers Meet’
Even well into the second half of his eighties, Gary Bartz remains one of the most powerful and evocative alto saxophonists playing today. He has consistently proven that he can thrive in almost any situation. This author can personally attest to Bartz’s jaw-dropping solos. Recognizing his skills, Brownswood Recordings paired him with a new collective… Read more: Review: Your Brother’s Keeper and Gary Bartz’s ‘Where Rivers Meet’ - Review: Helen Sung Big Band’s ‘Oracles’
Pianist and composer Helen Sung delivers her first big band album with Oracles (Sunnyside, 2026). The seventeen-piece big band is under the conduction of Alan Ferber. It features such mainstays as trumpeters Tatum Greenblatt and Alex Norris, trombonist James Burton III, and saxophonists Dave Pietro, John Ellis, and Nicole Glover. Accompanying Sung on piano in the rhythm section are bassist Vincente Archer, drummer Adam Cruz, and percussionist Samuel Torres. At… Read more: Review: Helen Sung Big Band’s ‘Oracles’ - Review: James Brandon Lewis Quartet’s ‘Omni’
Most press releases for new albums proclaim how their latest offering is the artist’s “most personal statement yet” or the artist’s “most fully realized to date.” Omni (Intakt, 2026), the sixth recording by tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis’s stellar quartet does this as well. But, here, such claims may prove true. Omni is certainly the ensemble’s… Read more: Review: James Brandon Lewis Quartet’s ‘Omni’ - Review: Lakecia Benjamin’s ‘We Dream’
We begin with a question. When is the optimal time for a rising artist to invite a bevy of guests to perform on the album? For six-time Grammy-nominated alto saxophonist, composer, and bandleader, the choice to present her self-described “guest flair” came from practically the outset. Her third album, Pursuance: The Coltranes (Ropeadope, 2020), featured ten… Read more: Review: Lakecia Benjamin’s ‘We Dream’ - Review: Steven Bernstein’s ‘ResoNation Trio’ and ‘Ultra Resonance’
Trumpeter. Composer. Bandleader. Arranger. Conductor. Steven Bernstein is many things, with those five descriptors only scratching the surface of his capabilities. He’s made music for films, had his compositions choreographed by Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and Twyla Tharp, and has worked with several progressive jazz artists. He was also instrumental in Levon Helm’s late-career success, which… Read more: Review: Steven Bernstein’s ‘ResoNation Trio’ and ‘Ultra Resonance’ - Review: Ambrose Akinmusire and Mary Halvorson’s ‘Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings’
The pairing of trumpeter/composer Ambrose Akinmusire and guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson seems almost pre-destined. They are two of our most inventive sonic seekers. Indeed, they have been playing together periodically since 2009 in off-the-cuff sessions at Halvorson’s Brooklyn apartment. Their ease of communication and rapport developed over many years allows both, together, to stretch to their… Read more: Review: Ambrose Akinmusire and Mary Halvorson’s ‘Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings’ - Review: Alvaro Torres Trio’s ‘Mairena’
Since 2023, the Alvaro Torres trio – pianist Torres, bassist Masa Kamaguchi, and drummer Kresten Osgood – has uniquely merged the languages of post-bop, free improvisation, and Spanish folklore, including flamenco. While the group has mostly played mostly in Europe, Torres has also accumulated an impressive resume in New York as a sideman for artists… Read more: Review: Alvaro Torres Trio’s ‘Mairena’ - Review: Tyshawn Sorey’s ‘Members… Don’t!’
Drummer, composer, and arranger Tyshawn Sorey has put together a top-shelf quintet for a blistering, intense, live double-LP reimagining of Max Roach’s landmark Members, Don’t Git Weary (Atlantic, 1968), entitled Members…Don’t! (Pi, 2026). Recorded at the end of a four-night engagement at New York’s Jazz Gallery, the group comprises of Adam O’Farrill on trumpet/electronics, Mark… Read more: Review: Tyshawn Sorey’s ‘Members… Don’t!’ - Review: David Sanchéz’s ‘Tambó’
A careful observer may notice that many of Ropeadope’s recent releases are tied to the Third Way Cultural Alliance (TWCA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which supports contemporary music as art. The TWCA focuses primarily on the album as the preeminent format of recorded musical expression and supports socially conscious projects of power and meaning in furtherance thereof.… Read more: Review: David Sanchéz’s ‘Tambó’ - Review: Eric Harland’s ‘Vipassana II’
Twelve years have elapsed since drummer and composer Eric Harland released the first installment of Vipassana (Ropeadope, 2014). The music took many by surprise, described most succinctly as groove jams built in a meditative vibe. After all, the Buddhist term that titles the album is often translated as “Insight Meditation.” While the follow-up Vipassana II (Ropeadope, 2026) is… Read more: Review: Eric Harland’s ‘Vipassana II’ - Review: Altin Sencalar’s ‘Natural Rhythm’
Natural Rhythm (Posi-Tone, 2025) is the seventh album by composer and trombonist Altin Sencalar. The album features unorthodox takes on jazz standards through Latin interpretations. Originals combine unusual instrumentation with different styles, ranging from Mexican Corrido and Mariachi to Puerto Rican influence, clave in 7/4, Afro-Cuban 6/8, and more, all with an emphasis on dance. Natural… Read more: Review: Altin Sencalar’s ‘Natural Rhythm’ - Review: Harry Skoler’s ‘Echoes’
Despite the instrument‘s long history in improvised music, the clarinet is often still an outlier instrument in contemporary jazz. Yet, clarinetist Harry Skoler will surprise you with his well-conceived Echoes, the inaugural release on his Red Brick Hill label (2026). The album’s CD jacket is a treasure in itself as Skoler recounts stories and remembrances… Read more: Review: Harry Skoler’s ‘Echoes’ - Review: New Jazz Underground’s ‘Hoodies’
The chordless trio, and especially the saxophone trio, continues to thrive in increasingly adventurous ways. New Jazz Underground (“NJU”), a viral internet sensation of saxophonist/vocalist Abdias Armenteros, bassist Sebastian Rios, and drummer T.J. Reddick, has successfully tapped into a new, younger audience, attuned to the internet and YouTube. The three united during the COVID-19 pandemic… Read more: Review: New Jazz Underground’s ‘Hoodies’ - Review: Joe Lovano’s ‘Paramount Quartet’
The performance by Joe Lovano’s Paramount Quartet at the 2025 Big Ears Festival was revelatory, in some ways the polar opposite of his Trio Tapestry oeuvre. The quartet – including guitarist Julian Lage in his first appearance on an ECM recording and Lovano’s longtime collaborator bassist Santi Debriano – rocked the whole set, with septuagenarian… Read more: Review: Joe Lovano’s ‘Paramount Quartet’ - Review: Chris Potter’s ‘Alive with Ghosts Today’
Most listeners don’t necessarily associate saxophonist and composer Chris Potter’s work as sociologically or historically focused. Yet, the saxophonist played a vital role on Low Country (Ropeadope, 2023), which shares the story of the Gullah Geechee people, direct descendants of enslaved Africans who reside on islands off the coast of South Carolina. And, three years later, his Alive With Ghosts… Read more: Review: Chris Potter’s ‘Alive with Ghosts Today’ - Review: Jamile and Vinicius Gomes’s ‘Boundless Species’
The drum-less duo of vocalist Jamile and guitarist Vinicius Gomes, joined by bassist Joe Martin, puts a new spin on the rich legacy of the Brazilian vocal-guitar sound on Boundless Species (La Reserve, 2026). In extending their music beyond a bossa-nova framework, the augmented duo cites the touchstones of Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Johnny Alf, Guinga,… Read more: Review: Jamile and Vinicius Gomes’s ‘Boundless Species’ - Review: ‘Matthew Stevens’
The eponymous release (Candid, 2026) by guitarist Matthew Stevens is not a solo guitar album. He has already released one of those, Pittsburgh (Whirlwind, 2021). Rather, Matthew Stevens is a guest-filled outing that goes in several directions. The album is co-produced by Stevens, saxophonist Josh Johnson – a favorite of many these days, and drummer Eric Doob. All three also play… Read more: Review: ‘Matthew Stevens’ - Review: Reverso’s ‘Between Two Silences’
If there was ever a prototypical album to fit this site’s subhead, “Music Beyond Category”, Reverso’s Between Two Silences (Alternate Side, 2026) is an excellent candidate. The title’s use of “Between” implies many things – a music between classical and contemporary jazz, between chamber jazz and impressionistic music, between silence and sound, and between the… Read more: Review: Reverso’s ‘Between Two Silences’ - Review: Phil Haynes’s ‘Terra’
Phil Haynes keeps pushing ahead, often in unexpected directions. Terra (Corner Store Jazz, 2026) is less a revolutionary setting than a natural development on some of his prior work. As an hour-long group improvisation between Haynes, guitarist Ben Monder, and tenor saxophonist Peyton Pleninger, record seems to be an outgrowth of the drummer’s duo project… Read more: Review: Phil Haynes’s ‘Terra’ - Review: Dave Douglas’s ‘Transcend’
We have barely caught our collective breaths. Only three months after trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas released his outstanding Four Freedoms (Greenleaf, 2026), he returns with a different group of musicians for Transcend (Greenleaf, 2026). Here, Douglas reunites his Gifts (Greenleaf, 2024) quartet, augmenting it with cellist Tomeka Reid to form a quintet. While Gifts… Read more: Review: Dave Douglas’s ‘Transcend’ - Review: Jason Moran, BlankFor.ms and Marcus Gilmore’s ‘Shards’
Shards (Red Hook, 2026) is the follow-up to Refract (Red Hook, 2023) by the trio of pianist Jason Moran, electronic musician BlankFor.ms (Tyler Gilmore), and drummer Marcus Gilmore. The predecessor was so novel, rather complex, and totally stunning. Shards finds the trio more at ease, in a comfort zone that makes the overall result more… Read more: Review: Jason Moran, BlankFor.ms and Marcus Gilmore’s ‘Shards’ - Review: Javier Nero Jazz Orchestra’s ‘Alkebulan’
With Alkebulan (Outside in Music, 2026), the Javier Nero Jazz Orchestra returns to explore the diasporic roots of its leader – trombonist, composer, educator, and bandleader Dr. Javier Nero – while offering an optimistic, unified, and futuristic outlook. The album’s title reflects what is often considered the original name of the African continent and translates… Read more: Review: Javier Nero Jazz Orchestra’s ‘Alkebulan’ - Review: Lo Steele’s ‘Only a Drop’
Lauren “Lo” Steele’s debut, Only a Drop (Little Village), is in some respects the female equivalent of Kurt Elling’s Superblue, though invariably even harder to classify. The album doesn’t fit very well into jazz, blues, gospel, or R&B, while crossing them all in a way comparable to Nina Simone. Now wait, that’s high praise and perhaps too much… Read more: Review: Lo Steele’s ‘Only a Drop’ - Review: Gregory Hutchinson’s ‘Kind of Now: The Pulse of Miles Davis’
Just about everywhere you turn in the jazz universe in 2026, there are albums and tours celebrating the centennial birthdates of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Yet drummer Gregory Hutchinson’s Kind of Now: The Pulse of Miles Davis (Music Arts, 2006) may long stand out as one of the best of those tributes. Hutchinson and… Read more: Review: Gregory Hutchinson’s ‘Kind of Now: The Pulse of Miles Davis’ - Review: Clovis Nicolas’s ‘Blues in Blueprint’
Seldom will one hear a full album of blues on a jazz recording today, particularly performed as imaginatively as on composer and bassist Clovis Nicolas and his trio do on Blues in Blueprint (Sunnyside, 2026). Bearing a subtitle of 12 Variations on the Blues. Nicolas’s album deliberately emphasizes diverse forms, grooves, tempos, and a stylistic… Read more: Review: Clovis Nicolas’s ‘Blues in Blueprint’ - Review: Adam O’Farrill’s ‘Elephant’
Most are probably familiar with Adam O’Farrill for his sidemen work, including with Hiromi’s Sonicwonder, Mary Halvorson’s Amyrillis sextet, Anna Weber’s Shimmer Wince, or with his dad, Arturo O’Farrill’s ensemble. But the trumpeter has been a leader on five albums. The last of these was a collective of creative music standouts for For These Streets… Read more: Review: Adam O’Farrill’s ‘Elephant’ - Review: Jon Irabagon’s ‘Saturday’s Child’ and ‘Focus Out’
Prolific saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Jon Iragabon released two albums simultaneously on March 13, 2026. First is Focus Out (Irabagast, 2026), a quartet outing with Matt Mitchell on piano and Fender Rhodes, Chris Lightcap on electric bass, Dan Weiss on drums, and the leader on alto saxophone. It also features several special guests: vocalist KOKAYI,… Read more: Review: Jon Irabagon’s ‘Saturday’s Child’ and ‘Focus Out’ - Review: Irreversible Entanglements’ ‘Future Present Past’
Future Present Past (Impulse!, 2026) is Irreversible Entanglements’ second release for the legendary label after a five-year gap between albums. The band, sometimes labeled “agit-free jazz,” is a unique entity that defies simple descriptors. It has the Afro-futuristic bent of Sun Ra – especially when June Tyson was in the Arkestra, the rich poetry of… Read more: Review: Irreversible Entanglements’ ‘Future Present Past’ - Review: Miroslav Vitous’s ‘Mountain Call’
With Mountain Call (ECM, 2026), Miroslav Vitous suddenly reemerges on Manfred Eicher’s label after a decade long absence. During the interim, he focused on orchestral sampling software and also released five albums on other labels, with the most recent coming out in 2018. While the bassist is no stranger to working with other labels; after… Read more: Review: Miroslav Vitous’s ‘Mountain Call’ - Review: Luke Norris’s ‘Moment From The Past’
Saxophonist and composer Luke Norris has a penchant for experimentation, merging the acoustic and electronic to create interesting soundscapes. His release, Northernsong (ears&eyes, 2020), was highly influenced by Mike Baggetta, a collaborator of punk rock bassist Mike Watt. The follow-up, Moment from the Past (self-release, 2026) takes an even more exploratory path. The album is… Read more: Review: Luke Norris’s ‘Moment From The Past’ - Review: Michael Formanek’s ‘New Digs’
Michael Formanek is perhaps best known for his work with the trio Thumbscrew, alongside guitarist Mary Halvorson and drummer Tomas Fujiwara. All three of that trio are part of the bassist’s newly assembled ensemble dubbed New Digs (Intakt, 2026). Completing the ensemble ate Hammond B3 player Alexander Hawkins and a trio of horns – John… Read more: Review: Michael Formanek’s ‘New Digs’ - Review: Mark Turner’s ‘Patternmaster’
Patternmaster (ECM, 2026) is tenor saxophonist Mark Turner’s follow-up to his highly acclaimed Return from the Stars (ECM, 2022). It features the same well-honed chordless quartet as its predecessor, focusing on the interplay between Turner’s tenor and Jason Palmer’s trumpet to create a free-flowing sound that seems almost perfectly balanced between unison passages and solos… Read more: Review: Mark Turner’s ‘Patternmaster’ - Review: Willy Rodriguez’s ‘In the Unknown (I Will Find You)’
Two years ago, drummer, composer, and bandleader Willy Rodriguez stunned improvised music audiences and critics alike with his leader debut, Seeing Sounds (self-release, 2024). Rodriguez was not yet a well-recognized force in creative music. His In the Unknown (I Will Find You) (Sunnyside, 2026) further cements that reputation. The album is a deeply personal journey… Read more: Review: Willy Rodriguez’s ‘In the Unknown (I Will Find You)’ - Review: Ben Wendel’s ‘BaRcoDe’
Given his penchant for unique projects, it is nearly impossible to predict what saxophonist, composer, and sound architect Ben Wendel will do next. The title, BaRcoDe (Edition, 2026), a jagged version of ‘barcode,’ gives hints. As a barcode represents data by varying the widths, spacings, and sizes of parallel lines, Wendel’s music on this project… Read more: Review: Ben Wendel’s ‘BaRcoDe’ - Review: ‘Daggerboard: The Skipper and Mike Clark’
There is a clear Miles-esque feel to Daggerboard: The Skipper and Mike Clark (Wide Hive, 2026), the sixth release by the collaborative duo of trumpeter, arranger, and composer Erik Jekabson and multi-instrumentalist, composer, and label owner Gregory Howe. By linking frequent cohorts, the bass-drum tandem of the legendary Henry “Skipper” Franklin and drummer Mike Clark,… Read more: Review: ‘Daggerboard: The Skipper and Mike Clark’ - Review: Edward Simon’s ‘Venezuela: Latin American Songbook Vol. 2’
Acclaimed pianist-composer, Guggenheim Fellow, and SF Jazz Collective member Edward Simon continues his deep dive into Latin American repertoire with Venezuela: Latin American Songbook Vol. 2 (ArtistShare, 2026). Whereas the pianist’s first volume covered music from several countries, the follow-up focuses almost exclusively on his native Venezuela. Simon, who has been in the U.S. for… Read more: Review: Edward Simon’s ‘Venezuela: Latin American Songbook Vol. 2’ - Review: ‘The Setting’
The eponymous debut of The Setting (Loyal Label, 2026) features a new trio of bassist-composer Eivind Opsvik, keyboardist Elias Stemeseder, and guitarist Will Graefe. The concept of a trio sounds fairly straightforward until one takes a closer look at the instrumentation of this particular group with Opsvik on not solely double bass but also drum… Read more: Review: ‘The Setting’ - Review: Ben Rosenblum Nebula Project’s ‘The Longest Way Round’
At heart, pianist, accordionist, and composer Ben Rosenblum is a jazz artist, but he is fascinated by many kinds of global music forms. The Longest Way Round (One Trick Dog) is his third album with the Nebula Project, a group of kindred spirits capable of moving in many directions. The album takes inspiration from Dominican… Read more: Review: Ben Rosenblum Nebula Project’s ‘The Longest Way Round’ - Review: Corcoran Holt’s ‘Freedom of Art’
With Freedom of Art (Holthouse, 2026), Corcoran Holt releases his second album as a leader. Perhaps best known for his long tenure in Kenny Garrett’s band, it has been over eight years since Holt’s debut, The Mecca (self-release, 2018). In the time between albums, the bassist, composer, and arranger has endured family loss, a worldwide… Read more: Review: Corcoran Holt’s ‘Freedom of Art’ - Review: Brandon Seabrook’s ‘Hellbent Daydream’
Accessible is hardly the first word one would associate with guitarist-banjoist Brandon Seabrook. Adventurous, edgy, zany, bizarre, unpredictable, and unconventional are far better fits. Yet, there’s a flow and some weird coherence to Hellbent Daydream (Pyroclastic, 2026) compared to his previous two albums as a leader. Hellbent showcases a new quartet that takes the leader’s… Read more: Review: Brandon Seabrook’s ‘Hellbent Daydream’ - Review: ‘Deface the Currency’ by The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis
Deface the Currency (Impulse!, 2026) is the follow-up to the 2024 eponymous album by The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis, issued on the same legendary label. The collaborative unit is even tighter now, having played a hundred and fifty shows together in one year. Their infectious mix of elements taken from punk, improvised jazz, and… Read more: Review: ‘Deface the Currency’ by The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis - Review: Shawn Lovato’s ‘Biotic’
On Biotic (Endectomorph, 2026), his third record as a leader, bassist-composer Shawn Lovato leads a chordless saxophone trio that blurs the line between composition and improvisation. The entirely acoustic outing deftly weaves together elements of punk, romanticism, and the atmospheric. To do so, Lovato enlists the support of tenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, whose profile has… Read more: Review: Shawn Lovato’s ‘Biotic’ - Review: Dave Douglas’s ‘Four Freedoms’
Delve into ‘Four Freedoms,’ an album that reinterprets Roosevelt’s ‘Four Freedoms’ through Dave Douglas’s visionary music. Featuring Marta Warelis, Nick Dunston, and Joey Baron, this work blends classical influences with jazz innovation. Uncover a new dimension in modern music today. - Review: Tigran Hamasyan’s ‘Manifeste’
Unveil Tigran Hamasyan’s ‘Manifeste,’ a transformative musical odyssey blending Armenian traditions with jazz. Recorded globally, this 2026 album challenges listeners with its rich, layered compositions and dynamic ensemble, inviting you to explore themes of transformation and renewal. - Review: ‘Take A.M.E.’
The eponymous Take A.M.E. is the debut from a trio co-led by three artists based in New York City – alto saxophonist Atsushi Ouchi, drummer Marc Copell, and bassist and longtime protégée of Buster Williams, Everett Boyd. Copell and Boyd play across jazz, blues, R&B, funk, and world-beat music. Blues fans may know them as integral long-running members of… Read more: Review: ‘Take A.M.E.’ - Review: Julian Lage Quartet’s ‘Scenes from Above’
Julian Lage is unafraid to switch gears. While the guitarist has held together his trio with bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King, over the last four years, recently he’s been branching out. First, there was the Joe Henry-produced Speak to Me (Blue Note, 2024) with keyboardists Patrick Warren and Kris Davis, and saxophonist Levon Henry. Last year, Lage toured with Joe… Read more: Review: Julian Lage Quartet’s ‘Scenes from Above’ - Review: John Ellis and Doublewide’s ‘Fireball’
Despite the name of woodwind specialist John Ellis’s Double Wide, suggesting a large ensemble, the group is a quintet, with slightly unusual instrumentation. The name reflects less the size of the group and more the breadth of sounds with Ellis (clarinet, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone) on the high end, and a robust bottom featuring sousaphonist Matt… Read more: Review: John Ellis and Doublewide’s ‘Fireball’ - Review: Craig Taborn’s ‘Dream Archives’
The first release by Craig Taborn since being named a MacArthur Fellow in late 2025, Dream Archives (ECM, 2026) finds the pianist/composer leading an unusual trio with noted cellist Tomeka Reid and in-demand drummer-vibraphonist Ches Smith. All three are acclaimed bandleaders in their own right, with Reid having an extensive history of collaboration through her… Read more: Review: Craig Taborn’s ‘Dream Archives’ - Review: Kris Davis and the Lutosławski Quartet’s ‘The Solastalgia Suite’
Coined by the philosopher Glenn Albrecht, the term ‘solastalgia” centers on the theme of homesickness while still at home with a focus towards surveying environmental damage. “Our environment is transforming around us, and we grieve for the landscapes and ecologies we knew,” says Albrecht. These feelings inspire The Solastalgia Suite (Pyroclastic, 2025), Grammy-winning pianist and… Read more: Review: Kris Davis and the Lutosławski Quartet’s ‘The Solastalgia Suite’ - Review: Jerome Sabbagh’s ‘Stand Up!’
Over the last few years, tenor saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh has released recordings thst featured his dulcet tones with several jazz elders – Kenny Barron (Vintage (Sunnyside, 2023)) and the late drummer Al Foster (Heart (Analog Tone Factory, 2024)). With Stand Up! (Analog Tone Factory, 2025), Sabbagh returns with this twenty-year running quartet with guitarist Ben Monder, bassist Joe Martin, and newly added drummer Nasheet… Read more: Review: Jerome Sabbagh’s ‘Stand Up!’ - Review: Bill Ware and the Club Bird All Stars’ ‘Martian Sunset’
The vibraphonist Bill Ware is perhaps best known for his work with The Jazz Passengers and Groove Collective. He has a cross-genre bent that includes work with Steely Dan and Elvis Costello. He is also incredibly prolific. Since 2016, he has composed over two hundred and fifty pieces, including sixty during the pandemic. These pieces… Read more: Review: Bill Ware and the Club Bird All Stars’ ‘Martian Sunset’ - Review: John O’Gallagher’s ‘Ancestral’
With Ancestral (Whirlwind, 2025), alto saxophonist and composer John O’Gallagher explores the late-period work of John Coltrane, specifically Interstellar Space (Impulse!, 1974) and Stellar Regions (Impulse!, 1995). These examinations build upon O’Gallagher’s doctoral work, which argues that so-called “free” music is not actually free as the term is commonly used. Or, in O’Gallagher’s words, researching… Read more: Review: John O’Gallagher’s ‘Ancestral’ - Review: Simón Willson’s ‘Feel Love’
In many ways, the burgeoning improvised music community in Brooklyn resembles downtown New York’s loft movement of the ‘70s. But it differs in one important way: Brooklyn seems to have an even stronger sense of community, with musicians often collaborating on each other’s albums. Such is the case for Chilean-born, Brooklyn-based bassist and composer Simón… Read more: Review: Simón Willson’s ‘Feel Love’ - Review: John Scofield and Dave Holland’s ‘Memories of Home’
Guitarist John Scofield and NEA Jazz Master bassist Dave Holland are not only both masters of their respective instruments but incredibly prolific. Versatile too, especially Holland. Since both artists’ rise – a decade apart – through their times with Miles Davis, they have respectively explored a wide area of music. That includes intimate duo settings.… Read more: Review: John Scofield and Dave Holland’s ‘Memories of Home’ - Review: Billy Hart’s ‘Multidirectional’
Over the past six months, several NEA Jazz Masters – all of them octogenarian, or close to – have released records that defy convention and obliterate preconceptions many may have about their work. The combination of age and the prestige of the prestigious NEA title is an enabler. Kenny Barron issued his first vocal album,… Read more: Review: Billy Hart’s ‘Multidirectional’ - Review: Lina Allemano Four’s ‘The Diptychs’
Give the devil of algorithmic media its due for knowing things about you that you never suspected. Who knew, for instance, that Japanese woodworking videos were an obsession lying dormant in my mind, waiting to be activated? Even though I am hopeless with a tool in my hand—or perhaps because of it—I found these little… Read more: Review: Lina Allemano Four’s ‘The Diptychs’ - Review: Mark Turner’s ‘Reflections on: The Auto-Biography of an Ex-Colored Man’
A more cerebral artist, saxophonist and composer Mark Turner, never makes it too easy for the listener. However, he may have reached his zenith with Reflections on: The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man (Giant Step Arts, 2025), a work that combines verbal narrative and music. As its title suggests, the album reflects upon the named… Read more: Review: Mark Turner’s ‘Reflections on: The Auto-Biography of an Ex-Colored Man’ - Review: Thomas Morgan’s ‘Around You is a Forest’
As evidenced by two recent collaborations with Wadada Leo Smith, Jakob Bro’s Loveland Music, is releasing some of the most interesting improvised music recently. Yet, also on the label comes Thomas Morgan’s Around You is a Forest (Loveland, 2025), which may well be the most unique album made in a long time. Morgan long ago… Read more: Review: Thomas Morgan’s ‘Around You is a Forest’ - Review: Chad Taylor’s ‘Smoke Shifter’
Drummer Chad Taylor is perhaps best known for his work as a sideman for the likes of James Brandon Lewis, Marc Ribot, Luke Stewart, jaimie branch, and many others, but his latest, Smoke Shifter (Otherly Love), is his sixth album as a leader. Those aforementioned names suggest an edgy, ’out’ approach. Instead, with Smoke Shifter, Taylor looks more to the inside,… Read more: Review: Chad Taylor’s ‘Smoke Shifter’ - Review: Pat Thomas’ ‘Hikmah’
Hikmah (TAO Forms) is the solo album from [Ahmed]’s virtuoso pianist Pat Thomas, whom Matthew Shipp has identified in his recent book as among the Black Mystery School Pianists. While Thomas may be in that school, his playing bears only a few similarities to his contemporary, Shipp. Thomas’s music is seemingly more spiritually focused. As… Read more: Review: Pat Thomas’ ‘Hikmah’ - Review: For Living Lovers’ ‘Natural Name’
Natural Name (Sunnyside, 2025) is the second album by For Living Lovers, the acoustic duo of guitarist Brandon Ross and bass guitarist Stomu Takeishi. Ross has appeared in so many contexts – electric, free, and as a leader and sideman – that sometimes his versatility on acoustic instruments becomes lost in the conversation. That is,… Read more: Review: For Living Lovers’ ‘Natural Name’ - Review: Domo Branch’s ‘Hands of Gifts’
The gratitude of drummer-composer Domo Branch, an in-demand rising star of contemporary jazz, is evident in many ways as on Hand of Gifts (Albina Music Trust, 2025). Artists often honor tradition, as Branch does here, while going beyond simply honoring his mentors. Albina Music Trust, a new label to most, is a non-profit organization and… Read more: Review: Domo Branch’s ‘Hands of Gifts’ - Review: Bob Schlesinger’s ‘Falling From Earth’
To say that Colorado-based pianist/composer Bob Schlesinger’s Falling from Earth (Digmatic, 2025) was a long time coming is a vast understatement. The project – the sixty-eight year old keyboardist’s leader debut – had been simmering for half a decade. Tracks were recorded in two separate sessions, Sear Sound in New York City and Coupe Studios… Read more: Review: Bob Schlesinger’s ‘Falling From Earth’ - Review: Jakob Bro’s ‘Murasaki’ and ‘The Montclair Sessions’
Danish guitarist Jakob Bro is the owner of the Copenhagen-based Loveland Records,, a label issuing two albums within a month of each other: the more recently recorded trio of Bro, trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, and drummer Marcus Gilmore for Murasaki (Loveland, 2025), and The Montclair Sessions (Loveland, 2025), from a 2022 recording session that paired… Read more: Review: Jakob Bro’s ‘Murasaki’ and ‘The Montclair Sessions’ - Review: Armen Donelian’s ‘Stargazer’
Stargazer (Sunnyside, 2025) is a reissue of an album by a trio of pianist Armen Donelian with bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Billy Hart that first appeared forty-five years ago, in 1980. Originally released and distributed on Atlas Records in Japan, it was available only as an import elsewhere. Soon thereafter, Atlas went out of… Read more: Review: Armen Donelian’s ‘Stargazer’ - Jazz Detective Zev Feldman Begins Yet Another Journey with New Imprint, Time Traveler Recordings, and Resurrecting Three Largely Forgotten Gems from the Muse Records Catalog
By now, most readers know that the Jazz Detective, Zev Feldman, does not limit his archival work to Black Friday and Record Store Day. Recently, he unveiled the terrific Charlie Rouse Brazilian recording, Cinnamon Flower (Resonance, 2025). As the archival consultant for Blue Note Records, he has another great one – Horace Silver’s Silver in… Read more: Jazz Detective Zev Feldman Begins Yet Another Journey with New Imprint, Time Traveler Recordings, and Resurrecting Three Largely Forgotten Gems from the Muse Records Catalog - Review: Phil Haynes & Free Country’s ‘Liberty Now!’
Drummer/composer Phil Haynes constantly leaves listeners anticipating what he will do next. In the past three years alone, he has presented No Fast Food – his trio with Dave Leibman and Drew Gress, Transitions – a duet album with Ben Monder, the romantic piano trio called Daydream, the complete American recordings of Four Horns &… Read more: Review: Phil Haynes & Free Country’s ‘Liberty Now!’ - Review: Sarah Elizabeth Charles’s ‘Dawn’
While it’s been done in pop, appearing noticeably pregnant on an album cover is a rarity for improvisation-based music. Indeed, vocalist and composer Sarah Elizabeth Charles’ Dawn (Ropeadope, 2025) may be one of the first. The album’s cover is striking – the artist in a stunning silhouette, leaving no doubt that she is indeed with… Read more: Review: Sarah Elizabeth Charles’s ‘Dawn’ - Review: Donny McCaslin’s ‘Lullaby for the Lost’
Saxophonist-composer Donny McCaslin is determined to move way beyond conventional concepts of jazz, jazz-rock fusion, or any label you want to ascribe to his music. Just when we didn’t think his music could be louder and more rock-influenced than I Want More (Edition, 2023), he kicks it up a couple of notches with Lullaby for… Read more: Review: Donny McCaslin’s ‘Lullaby for the Lost’ - Review: Mike Clark’s ‘Itai Doshin’
The title of Mike Clark’s latest record, Itai Doshin (Wide Hive, 2025) comes from the drummer’s Buddhist beliefs, a worldview shared with his onetime bandleader, Herbie Hancock. The title translates into the saying of “many in body, one in mind.” That’s the equivalent in musical speak of ‘in the pocket.” Or, in plainer language, a… Read more: Review: Mike Clark’s ‘Itai Doshin’ - Review: Noah Garabedian’s ‘Quartets and Solos’
With Quartets and Solos (Contagious, 2025), bassist and composer Noah Garabedian appears for the first time on saxophonist Dayna Stephens’ label. As one might expect, Stephens is a vital member of the quartet, wielding his tenor saxophone and EWI. Rounding out the ensemble are pianist Carmen Staaf, drummer Jimmy MacBride, and Samuel Adams on synths,… Read more: Review: Noah Garabedian’s ‘Quartets and Solos’ - Review: ‘Trio of Bloom’ with Nels Cline, Craig Taborn, and Marcus Gilmore
Trio of Bloom (Pyroclastic, 2025) is the first meeting of three titans of creative music, artists to whom genres and boundaries hold little meaning. You can regularly find each of them in conventional or edgy sessions, or within the turf that lies between. The term in the promotional notes is a better one – genre… Read more: Review: ‘Trio of Bloom’ with Nels Cline, Craig Taborn, and Marcus Gilmore - Review: Henry Threadgill’s ‘Listen Ship’
Audiences who saw artist-in-residence Henry Threadgill at Big Ears in 2024 were enthralled with five performances, each featuring a different configuration, and left eagerly anticipating the artist’s next move. Listen Ship (Pi, 2025), like many of Threadgill’s recent works, finds the eighty-one-year-old NEA Jazz Master conducting rather than participating instrumentally. The ensemble under his direction… Read more: Review: Henry Threadgill’s ‘Listen Ship’ - Review: Carmen Staaf’s ‘Sounding Line’
Carmen Staaf’s Sounding Line (Sunnyside, 2025) is the second album recently covered on this site that envisions a conversation between Thelonious Monk and another pianist-composer. Just a few weeks ago, trumpeter Josh Lawrence positioned Chopin with Monk. Here, Staff has Monk conversing with a contemporary, Mary Lou Williams. Just about every jazz pianist and many… Read more: Review: Carmen Staaf’s ‘Sounding Line’ - Review: Gary Bartz’s ‘The Eternal Tenure of Sound: Damage Control’
One of our few links to bands of Miles, McCoy Tyner, Pharaoh Sanders, Lee Morgan, and Roy Hargrove, NEA Jazz Master and soon-to-be-eighty-five-year-old Gary Bartz has earned the right to do whatever he pleases. Damage Control (OYO, 2025) is the first installment in The Eternal Tenure of Sound trilogy, self-funded by Bartz and produced by… Read more: Review: Gary Bartz’s ‘The Eternal Tenure of Sound: Damage Control’ - Review: Charlie Rouse’s ‘Cinnamon Flower: The Expanded Edition’
This is the year that some of us learned that tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse was a leader of other bands rather than simply a member of Thelonious Monk’s quartet. Earlier this year, Strata-East reissued 1974’s guitar-driven, funky Two Is One (Mack Avenue, 2025). Now comes Cinnamon Flower: The Expanded Edition (Resonance, 2025), a double LP… Read more: Review: Charlie Rouse’s ‘Cinnamon Flower: The Expanded Edition’ - Review: Patricia Brennan’s ‘Of the Near and Far’
A fierce expansion on the percussive focus of More Touch (Pyroclastic Records, 2022) and the addition of intricate saxophone parts made Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic Records, 2024) a bold step forward for vibraphonist Patricia Brennan. The progression from More Touch to Breaking Stretch sounded natural, but the difference between those albums and Of The Near And… Read more: Review: Patricia Brennan’s ‘Of the Near and Far’ - Review: Shuteen Erdenebaatar and Nils Kugelmann’s ‘Under the Same Stars’
Under the Same Stars (Motéma, 2025) is the second installment of Mongolian-born and Germany-based pianist-composer Shuteen Erdenebaatar’s planned trilogy drawing inspiration from the mythology of her Mongolian homeland surrounding the sun, moon, and stars. The first, Rising Sun (Motema, 2023), was an acclaimed quartet recording that evoked vitality, positivity, and optimism – a fitting choice… Read more: Review: Shuteen Erdenebaatar and Nils Kugelmann’s ‘Under the Same Stars’ - Review: Nicole Zuraitis’ ‘Live at Vic’s Las Vegas’
Go ahead and try this – Ask your friends who the most prominent female jazz vocalists have been in the past five years. Or, do a Google search with the question. More often than not, you won’t find Nicole Zuraitis’s name on the list. That’s criminal. Consider the Grammy Awards. Samara Joy has won five… Read more: Review: Nicole Zuraitis’ ‘Live at Vic’s Las Vegas’ - Review: Dave Douglas’ ‘Alloy’
With Alloy (Greenleaf, 2025), trumpeter, composer, and forward thinker Dave Douglas unveils his latest unique ensemble. Joined by two young trumpeters – UK native Alexandra Ridout and New Hampshire native Dave Adewumi, both of whom now live in New York – he creates, for lack of a better term, a trumpet choir. The group’s rhythm… Read more: Review: Dave Douglas’ ‘Alloy’ - Review: ‘George Coleman with Strings’
There are no written rules for NEA Jazz Masters. Clearly, they have earned the right to undertake their long-dreamed-of projects. Or to buck the music establishment with something unexpected. Or to fulfill a “bucket list” item. George Coleman with Strings (High Note, 2025), unequivocally the most gorgeous album of the tenor saxophonist’s storied career, meets… Read more: Review: ‘George Coleman with Strings’ - Review: Lucian Ban, Mat Maneri, and John Surman’s ‘Cantica Profana – The Béla Bartók Field Recordings’
Despite its jagged start, listen to Cantica Profana – The Béla Bartók Field Recordings (Sunnyside, 2025) its whole way through as it evolves into gorgeously flowing music. On the album- those who purchase the two LP set will also receive The Athenaeum Concert (Sunnyside, 2025) by the same artists – pianist Lucian Ban, violist Mat… Read more: Review: Lucian Ban, Mat Maneri, and John Surman’s ‘Cantica Profana – The Béla Bartók Field Recordings’ - Review: Fieldwork’s ‘Thereupon’
Fresh off their appearance at the Big Ears Festival, which this author unfortunately missed, the trio Fieldwork return with their first album in almost two decades, Thereupon (Pi, 2025). You will likely not find three more decorated individuals in any trio than those in this band: Vijay Iyer, Steve Lehman, and Tyshawn Sorey. Pianist Iyer… Read more: Review: Fieldwork’s ‘Thereupon’ - Review: Caelan Cardello’s ‘Chapter One’
Caelan Cardello is breaking out. As part of vocalist Tyreek McDole’s backing quartet at this summer’s Newport Jazz Festival, the pianist-composer impressed the audience with his comfort with hard swinging numbers and his duetting with McDole on the standard “Lush Life.” Few in attendance knew Cardello’s forthcoming debut, Chapter One (Jazz Bird, 2025), would arrive… Read more: Review: Caelan Cardello’s ‘Chapter One’ - Review: Miguel Zenon Quartet’s ‘Vanguardia Subterránea: Live at the Village Vanguard’
Vanguardia Subterránea: Live at the Village Vanguard (Miel Music, 2025) is alto saxophonist-composer Miguel Zenón’s first live album with his quartet and eighteenth overall. Its eight tracks were recorded over two nights in September 2024 at the hallowed jazz shrine in Greenwich Village. Zenon employs his longstanding quartet of pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig,… Read more: Review: Miguel Zenon Quartet’s ‘Vanguardia Subterránea: Live at the Village Vanguard’ - Review: Jacob Garchik’s ‘Ye Olde 2: At The End of Time’
Strap yourself in for an exhilarating ride. Trombonist and composer Jacob Carchik’s Ye Olde 2: At the End of Time (Yestereve, 2025) is the follow-up to the first Ye Olde (Yestereve, 2015) from a decade earlier. The older album imagined a band of heroes journeying through an imaginary medieval Brooklyn. For the second voyage, many… Read more: Review: Jacob Garchik’s ‘Ye Olde 2: At The End of Time’ - Review: Linda May Han Oh’s ‘Strange Heavens’
The comparison of a familiar hell to a strange heaven drives Australian-born bassist and composer Linda May Han Oh’s thinking for her trio album Strange Heavens (Biophilia, 2025). It is far too easy to be lulled by society into complacency and benign acceptance of social and political conditions. Strange Heavens stands opposed to this status… Read more: Review: Linda May Han Oh’s ‘Strange Heavens’